Editor's Picks category, Page 428
New year, who dis? Songs to get you ready for 2020Video
2019 has run out of days on the calendar. The new year is almost here, so let’s get down to business. What songs are you going to listen to leading into and to start 2020? For that, here are some options: Death Cab for Cutie - “The New Year” Mariah...
Pig on the run eludes capture in Springdale Township until owner shows up
A wayward pig eluded capture for several hours Monday in Springdale Township after attempts by residents and police to lure and lasso the 100-pound, black-haired swine failed. No one was injured but jokes abounded on the Facebook page “Springdale Borough News,” with one poster wryly noting that Monday was National...
20 years ago, Y2K became the crisis that wasn’t
The lights stayed on. The lines stayed open. And 1999 ended with a whimper rather than a bang. I wrote those words in a news story for the Tribune-Review at the end of my shift as the calendar turned from Dec. 31, 1999, to Jan. 1, 2000. It had been...
Take it outside: Winter exercise is a snap with the right gear
It’s New Year’s Eve — time once again to make a resolution to do something better in the new year. Starting with Halloween candy, continuing with the Thanksgiving feast and finishing off with holiday indulgences in December, it’s no wonder that many of our resolutions have to do with getting...
‘Piggyback’ flight of World War II bombers recalledVideo
After what he endured on Dec. 31, 1944, while under heavy attack during an ill-fated bombing mission over northern Germany, Glenn H. Rojohn had no interest in popping a bottle of champagne and ringing in the new year. “We never celebrated New Year’s Eve,” said his son, David Rojohn of...
Sharon Stone blocked on dating app after users thought her profile was fake
Even celebrities sometimes have trouble finding a date. Award-winning actress Sharon Stone, best known for starring in “Basic Instinct” in 1992, got bumped from dating app Bumble after users thought her account was fake. But turns out it was actually her. Stone shared on her official Twitter page Monday that...
Barack Obama names Dan Rooney book as a favorite of 2019
Barack Obama included a Pittsburgh gem in his list of top books from of the year. The former president and avid reader shared via Twitter 19 titles that impressed him. One of his sports favorites was Jim Rooney’s “A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl...
New invasive species app for public promotes early detection of aquatic invaders
The Pennsylvania Sea Grant has developed an app for the public — primarily anglers, boaters and other users of waterways — to identify and report aquatic invasive species. These invasive species can harm natural resources and impact public use of waterways. According to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, some...
East Deer family left homeless by fire to move into new place Monday
An East Deer family of six left homeless after a Friday morning fire is expected to move into a new place in the township Monday. The Red Cross initially assisted Aaron Ciccanti, his fiancee, Andrea Small, and Small’s four children, two boys and two girls, with a temporary place to...
Efforts underway to preserve and reuse former Carnegie Library building in HazelwoodVideo
Steve Paulovitch has fond memories of the old Carnegie Library branch on Hazelwood’s Monongahela Street. Paulovitch, 77, of Monroeville, grew up in Hazelwood and said he started going to the library at age 5 or 6. It was one of the town’s main social and cultural centers with a large...
East Deer neighbors pitch in to help family of 6 recover from fire that destroyed their home
A community is rallying in support of an East Deer family who lost everything in a Friday morning fire. The Red Cross is assisting Aaron Ciccanti, his fiancee, Andrea Small, and their four children with a temporary place to stay, clothing and food after their home at 405 Freeport Road...
Renovating Vandergrift’s vacant J.C. Penney building takes step forward
The Vandergrift Improvement Program is beginning to make progress on renovating the town’s historic J.C. Penney building at 134 Grant Ave. after years of saving and struggle. The building has sat vacant for more than a decade. The Vandergrift Improvement Project owns the building. VIP recently invited Patton Engineering to...
Video: Tractor trailer narrowly misses crushing several first responders at Texas highway pileupVideo
Talk about a near miss. A tractor trailer narrowly missed crushing several first responders at the scene of a major pileup on Highway 84 in Lubbock County, Texas on Friday. Video captured by NBC-affiliate KCBD, which happened to be on the scene, shows crew wearing neon vests scrambling for their...
Man demands money from bank teller — then gives it back, North Carolina cops say
RALEIGH, N.C. — A 66-year-old man who demanded money from a North Carolina bank isn’t being charged with a crime, officials say. The man was at a Wells Fargo in Wilmington on Thursday when he handed a teller a note with his request, according to police spokeswoman Linda Thompson. But...
Pittsburgh police: No celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve
Pittsburgh police are once again reminding New Year’s Eve revelers that celebratory gunfire is illegal and officers will monitor the city’s gunshot detection system to track down violators. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said in a statement that police will keep an eye on ShotSpotter alerts throughout the city and...
Tenn. bill would force students to compete as their biological sex at birth
A state legislator has introduced a bill in Tennessee that would require state-funded elementary and secondary school student-athletes to compete as the gender stated on their original birth certificate. HB 1572 states that any school found violating the law would be “immediately ineligible to continue to receive public funds of...
This Pittsburgh nonprofit takes used bars of hotel soap and recycles them for developing countries
A research trip to Cambodia prompted a University of Pittsburgh graduate to change his career trajectory and create an international nonprofit organization aimed at helping people get soap. In a remote village where he was studying climate change, Samir Lakhani watched a woman bathing her newborn son, scrubbing his skin...
TribLIVE’s top 25 photos of the year
Captured by the Tribune-Review visuals staff, this collection of our most visually compelling images from 2019 reminds us of the most intriguing news, sports and cultural events of the year....
Notre Dame rector: Fragile cathedral might not be savedVideo
PARIS — The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there’s a “50% chance” the structure might not be saved, because scaffolding installed before this year’s fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument. Monsignor Patrick Chauvet said restoration work isn’t likely...
Kindness comeback: Acting like Fred Rogers in his neighborhood and beyond
At a time of partisanship, polarization and rancor, Christmas comes along to smooth the hard edges of our divisions. Acts of kindness somehow come more naturally this time of year. But by the time February rolls around, everybody’s grouchy again. Does kindness have any staying power? Perhaps because kindness may...
Pittsburgh is 23rd rudest city in national poll
When Americans were asked to name the rudest cities in the country, Pittsburgh landed about in the middle. The Steel City ranked 23 out of the top 50 metro areas, according to a new Business Insider survey of 2,092 adults. Poll respondents were asked in October and November to choose...
Santa slammed, shoppers hurt in crush for mall freebiesVideo
Several shoppers were injured when a crowd struggled to catch prizes inside an Australian shopping mall. Balloons containing vouchers for trivial gifts, such as free coffee and parking, were released Tuesday above a crowd of about 150 people at the Westfield Parramatta shopping center in Sydney, reports news.com.au. Video shows...
Wisconsin city mulls dumping old ban on throwing snowballsVideo
WAUSAU, Wis. — For decades, those who have participated in snowball fights in one Wisconsin city have risked getting in trouble with the law. But that may be about to change. A 1962 ban on throwing projectiles in Wausau lumps snowballs into the same category as rocks and other items...
San Francisco cafes are banishing disposable coffee cups
SAN FRANCISCO — A new cafe culture is brewing in the San Francisco area, where a growing number of coffee houses are banishing paper to-go cups and replacing them with everything from glass jars to rental mugs and BYO cup policies. What started as a small trend among neighborhood cafes...
Hays bald eagle nest gets new webcam for upcoming breeding seasonVideo
Unseasonably warm temperatures but still frozen ground made for a seamless reinstallation of a live webcam now in its seventh year at the Pittsburgh bald eagle nest in Hays. The Hays bald eagles, one of the region’s half-dozen known breeding pairs of the formerly endangered birds, are in their eighth...
